Category: Business

This is the third Chip and PIN device that I’ve reviewed, and probably the one that I’ve most looked forward to. Previous devices have been good, however they’ve never had an air of a big corporate entity behind them to drive the service into new areas. Enter PayPal, an arguably late entry to the Bluetooth Chip and PIN device market. PayPal Here was announced in the UK shortly after iZettle pre-orders had begun, however no pre-order information was available until after the iZettle devices had already started shipping. Continue reading “PayPal Here – Review”

As a small photography business owner, I sometimes feel that I’m spending far too much time trying to manage my day-to-day business operations and less of my time actually taking photographs. Light Blue promises to change all of that.

Light Blue Software Ltd, a British company startup from 2008, feel they have the answer to mine and many other business owners’ requirements with a tool that has been designed by photographers, for photographers..

At its core, Light Blue is a database package along with a Getting Things Done system. It has been built from the ground up for use by Photographers to help them track the vast amounts of information that they collect for every shoot and business function, break it down into tasks and to set deadlines for everything. On top of all of this, Light Blue will handle all of the paperwork associated with shoots – generating anything from emails to invoices.

Where Light Blue differs from other databases, is that it has been built by professionals who understand what it takes to run a photography business. This makes Light Blue something of a Bespoke package. Where such platforms like Sage or database packages like File Maker fail in todays small-business photography world, is that a photographer doesn’t need most of what these packages offer. In the case of File Maker (A powerful database package), you still have to build the database structure yourself prior to entering any data. These would be classed as ‘off-the-shelf’ products.

Part of what makes Light Blue so powerful is the ability to use the in-built workflows to help manage your day-to-day, but to also build your own workflows to perfectly manage how YOU want to work. This is important because a piece of software should never tell you how to work. You tell it how you work and it should match you.

Following on from the success of my review of the iZettle Chip & PIN mobiel payment solution, I have decided to go a step further and look at another Chip & PIN solution that I was not aware of until recently. Continue reading “Intuit Pay Chip & PIN – Review”

Ever since starting my own business I have been looking for a way to take payments by card, without having the monthly expense and contractual obligation of operating a Chip & PIN reader from a Business Banking account. Six months ago I came across iZettle; a relatively new startup that promised a mobile card payment solution without monthly cost.